Introduction

LUX is a global brand developed by Unilever. The range of products includes beauty soaps,
shower gels, bath additives, hair shampoos and conditioners. Lux started as Sunlight
Flakes laundry soap in 1899.
In 1925, it became the first mass market toilet soap in the world. It is noted as a brand that
pioneered female celebrity endorsements. As of 2005, Lux revenue is estimated at 1 billion,
with market shares spread out to more than 100 countries around the globe. Today, Lux is the
market leader in several countries including India, Pakistan, Brazil, Thailand and South Africa
Developed by Unilever, Lux (soap) is now headquartered in Singapore.
History
The brand was founded by the Lever Brothers (today known as Unilever) in 1899. The name
changed from Sunlight Flakes to Lux in 1900, a Latin word for light and suggestive of
luxury.
Lux toilet soap was launched in the United States in 1925 and in the United Kingdom in 1928.
Subsequently, Lux soap has been marketed in several forms, including handwash, shower gel and
cream bath soap.

Lux beginnings

Beginnings
Luxs early advertising campaigns aimed to educate users about its credentials as a laundry
product and appeared in magazines such as Ladies Home Journal. By the early 1920s, it was a
hugely successful brand and in 1924, the Lever Brothers conducted a contest that led them to a
very interesting finding: women were using Lux as pud soaps.

Lux Building beauty soap credentials

Building beauty soap credentials
Introduced in the United States in 1924, Lux became the worlds first mass market toilet soap
with the tagline made as fine as French Soap. In the first two years of launch, Lux
concentrated on building its beauty soap credentials. Advertisements offered consumers a
beauty soap made in the French method at an affordable price, with the promise of smooth skin.
Made with fine-texture, rich in fragrance, and manufactured using a method created in France,
the first Lux toilet soap was sold for 10 cents apiece.

Lux 9 out of 10 stars use Lux

2

19281940: 9 out of 10 stars

This era saw key launches of LUX in the UK, India, Argentina and Thailand. The brand
concentrated on building its association with the increasingly popular movie world, focusing
more on movie stars and their roles rather than on the product. In 1929, advertising featured 26
of the biggest female stars of the day, creating a huge impact among the movie-loving target
audience. This was followed by Hollywood directors talking about the importance of smooth and
youthful skin. This pioneered the trend of celebrity product endorsements.
In 1931, Lux launched a campaign with older stars, I am over 31. The series of print ads had
stars talking about preserving youthful skin. Lux also launched campaigns featuring interviews
with stars and close-ups of stars, bringing to life the 9 out of 10 idea

LuxRomancing the consumer,Deanna Durbin

40s & 50s: Romancing the consumer
Using movie star as role models, Luxs strategy was to build relevance by looking at beauty
through the consumers eyes. While still retaining the star element, the focus shifted to the
consumer and the role of the brand in her life.
Advertising commercials showed ordinary looking women with direct references to leading
ladies from the movies such as Deanna Durbin and Deborah Kerr.

Lux Romancing the brand

3

1960s: Romancing the brand

In the 1960s, advertising was shifted to product stories and the romanticizing of brand through its
sensorial & emotional dimensions. This was the era of the film star feeling and the Golden
Lux, featuring stars such as Sandra Dee,Diana Rigg and Samantha Eggar.
The bathing ritual, the fantasy element that has been the imagery of Lux, was created in this
era. The brand also moved forward with launching LUX in the Middle East, entering a more
conservative market.
1970s: Dimensionalizing beauty
Reflecting the shift in beauty trends in the 1970s, the Lux stars stepped down from their
pedestals and were portrayed as multi-faceted women with natural, wholesome beauty that the
ordinary consumer could relate and aspire to. The executions were more of a day in the life of
the stars with focus on their natural beauty. Stars included Brigitte Bardot and Natalie Wood.
1980s: Owning the category space
Establishing itself as the beauty soap for stars and beautiful women, the 1980s emphasized the
importance of skin care the first step to beauty. Lux was launched in China at this time. Sophia
Loren, Raquel Welch and Cheryl Ladd were some famous celebrities used during this time.
In India, actresses such as Hema Malini, Parveen Babi, Madhuri Dixit, Rani
Mukerji and Aishwarya Rai have endorsed Lux soap.
1990s early 2000s: Advanced skin benefits
In the 1990s, Lux moved from generic beauty benefits to focus on specific benefits and
transformation. More emphasis on functionality and variant associations with different skin types
as well as mention of ingredients. The communication was far more regional specific and
localized, using in Brazil stars like Malu Mader and Debora Bloch.
This period launched product brand extensions Shower Cream and Gels and Lux Super Rich
Shampoo in Japan and China.
Lux Style Awards
In 2002, Pakistan created the Lux Style Awards to celebrate the Pakistani film industry.

Theme image of Lux Style Awards.

2000s: Beyond movie stars

In early 2000, the focus shifted from specific skin benefits to a stronger emotional space. The
brand provided the link between the aspirational role models and real life with the campaign,
Lux brings out the star in you. The benefit was now more than just beauty, it was also about the
confidence that comes from beautiful skin.
In 2005, Lux encouraged women to celebrate and indulge their femininity with the Play with
Beauty philosophy, with stars like Aishwarya Rai. The brand also connected with consumers to
take a more active stance on beauty.

LITERATURE REVIEW
Discovering the Consumer: Market Research, Product Innovation, and the Creation of Brand
Loyalty in Britain and the United States in the Interwar Years.
This paper discusses the use of market and consumer research at Lever/Unilever and its
advertising agency in Britain and the United States, J. Walter Thompson (JWT), in the interwar
period. Research surveys conducted by JWT in the 1920s and 1930s helped Lever reposition its
international soap brand Lux. The case demonstrates that Lever deployed qualitative market
research techniques much earlier than usually acknowledged. Qualitative and quantitative
consumer research methods allowed marketers at Lever andJWT
to take account of autonomous consumer practices that limited the scope of management.
The article also shows that marketing's cultural practices often predate its conceptualization and
academic theorization. The Brand: Lux Soap Flakes One of Levers earliest product innovations
was a production technique developed in1889, which allowed soap to be produced in forms of
flakes. The resulting product, soap flakes, made washing easier and preserved the garments as
women did not have to rub clothes with the hard soap bar. In 1900, Levers product came on the
market as Luxsoap flakes. The product, with its distinctive brand name (derived from the
Latin word for light lux, which in English also suggested luxury)and packaging was one
ofthefirst attempts at integrated marketing in the UnitedKingdom. Lux became a brandtargeted at
high- and middle-income consumers who wanted to preserve expensiveclothing. The brand
became associated with care and gentleness but also with the idea of expensive lifestyles.
Moreover, the product was positioned as a problem solver (Levitt1960); if consumers were rich
enough to buy expensive clothes, they also had problems which low-income groups did not have,
6

that is, the preservation of silk or other expensive clothes. Lux helped solve these problems. In
1906, Lever began to export Lux soap flakesto the United States. There, its advertising agency
JWT suggested that the traditional positioning of Lux as a product to be used to wash woolen
garments (see slogan in fig. 1:Lux wont shrink woolens) should be widened so that
consumers saw Lux as aproduct that could be used for all fine fabrics. This repositioning
followed a typical strategy applied by JWT. Its advertisements often foll

aggressive market expansion strategy for their products; by suggesting a wider framework of
possible uses for a given product both the customer base and the usage rate of a product could be
increased (Ansoff 1957).For its client Lever Brothers, this strategy resulted in increased sales
from 10,000 cases in 1915 to over one million cases in 1918 (The history of LuxFlakes1950;
Lovett 1970). This strategic marketing orientation of JWTs advertising is further exemplified in
its decision to use advertisements in 1922 to promote the use of Lux for the washing of dishes. In
the early 1920s, the Lux advertising campaign in the American market took a crucial turn toward
dialogic consumer engagement. In 1924,JWT invited American housewives to submit
testimonials for Lux soap flakes. These letters, of which about 53,000 arrived at the JWT
headquarters, were used by the agency to conduct a survey of consumer habits. It turned out that
consumers had independently begun to use the flakes for the washing of their hands, for baths,
for their babies, and for washing their hands and hair. This effectively created brand extensions
into new prod lines (toilet soap, shampoo, etc.). These findings encouraged Lever Brothers to
extend the brand and offer consumers a Lux toilet soap, which was launched on the American
market in 1925 and three years later on the British market (Lux Flakes AccountHistory
1950).In 1927, Lever decided to reposition the Lux brand on the British market,too. In a highly
volatile market, the expensive quality product Lux had begun to losemarket share to generic soap
flake products which were sold in bulk. Moreover, in 1924,Colgates Palmolive toilet soap was
introduced in the United Kingdom supported by theAmerican Lord & Thomas advertising
agency. By themid-1930s, Palmolive haddiversified into shampoo soap, shaving cream, and
face powder (Statistical Review of Press Advertising 1937; Edwards 1962).What added to this
competitive pressure wereLevers limitations in strategically positioning its own brands in a
crowded market. Soonafter World War I, Lever had managed to acquire a quasi monopoly in the
7

British soapmarket and produced some 60 percent of all soap consumed in the United
Kingdom(Edwards 1962). By1930, Rinso, Persil, Sunlight Soap, Lifebuoy, the Monkey
Brand,Pears, and Lux were all part of the Lever Empire.
Consumer Voice and Brand Loyalty: Lever, J. Walter Thompson and the Rise of Market
Research in Britain, 1918-1939Stefan Schwarzkopf, Queen Mary College, University of London,
UK
The study was conducted by J. Walter Thompson in Britain, 1918-1939.This paper discusses the
use of market and consumer research at Lever/Unilever and its advertisingagency in the UK, J.
Walter Thompson (JWT), in the interwar period. Surveys conducted by JWT between
1927 and 1935 helped Lever reposition its international soap brand Lux. The case demonstrates
that Lever pursued market segmentation strategies much earlier than usually acknowledged.
Qualitative
consumer research methods were used well before the arrival of psychographics and allowedmar
keters to take account of autonomous consumer practices which limited the scope of
management. The history of market research and international marketing strategy has recently
attracted increased attention(Bakker 2003, Miskell 2004, Heinrich and Bachelor 2004,Dyer et
al.2004, Fitzgerald 2005, Church and Godley2003). The Lever conglomerate and Levers
international advertising agency J. Walter Thompson (JWT) are two prime examples of the
surprisingly large role that market research played in strategic brand management asearly as the
1920s. The case of the relaunch of the soap product Lux then used for washing clothes in
Britain in 1927-28illustrates how Lever and JWT used
marketresearchInvestigations to manage the repositioning of this product ina very competitive an
dmature market. In the late 1920s, Levers advertising agency in the United Kingdom JWT
did large-scale and detailed consumer behavior investigations in relation to soapproducts and
began to segment the market for cleaning products in order to position
Luxin the mind of consumers. Using this case study, I will show that rudimentarysegmentation,
targeting and positioning techniques were being used by marketers far earlier than Tedlows
models of stages in marketing history allows for (Tedlow
1990).Rather than exposing consumers to a purely sales-oriented, mass marketing styleof produc
t communication, the market research conducted by JWT and Lever in the 1920s

OBJECTIVES OF STUDY
product Mix Strategies: FMCG in Indian Market
The study was conducted by Mohan Kumar, T. P.and Shiva raj and the research paper exposes
the attitudinal effects on the decision-making process of consumers in purchasing FMCG
products in a mass market confined to HUL and P&G
Companiessoaps and detergents. This article introduces the existing and desired product mixstrat
egies in FMCG categories bridging the gap between companies and the customers.The article
starts with the problem statement followed by significance, objectives,
scope,methodology, limitations of the study, summary of findings and suggestions andrecommen
dations.Good research depends on a good problem. A well-defined problem is pre-requisite
for good research. In this context, the research problem considered is Product MixStrategies of
Leading FMCG in Indian Market, with special reference to Soaps andDetergents. FMCG
market in India is one of the fastest growing markets in India. Theproduct categories which are
marketed under this, consists of variety of product lines anditems. In India, there are good
number of companies manufacturing an marketingFMCG. Among all, HUL and are in the
forefront. In spite of the wide range of soaps and detergents marketed in India, there seems to
be gap in the existing product mixoffered by the companies and the customer requirements. The
diverse segments in Indianmarket are yet to be completely taped by the existing players. The
current study hasattempted to know the existing and desired product mix strategy in FMCG
categorieswith special emphasis on Soaps and Detergents in Indian Market. This research is
goingto bridge the gap between companies and the customers in terms of the customer expectatio
n and companies understanding of the customers expectation.

10

INTRODUCTION STAGE
Advertising =
In the initial stages, they allocate more advertising budget So that more andmore customers
could be attracted towards the product.
In ads they targeted theearly adopters, who were readiest to buy the product.
The first ambassador,Leela Chitnis.
Distribution =
was selective and only covers the major cities of INDIA to get recognition in
those cities.
Their distribution channel was through:Manufacturer Wholesaler & Retailer
INTRODUCTION STAGE
sales
cost
Profit
Marketing objectives

Low cost
High cost per customer
Negative
Create product awarnaess

Product strategy
Price strategy
Distribution strategy

Offer a basic product

Use cost plus
Build product awareness among adopiter and
dealers

GROWTH STAGE
In the growth stage, their sales rapidly started rising.
They have expanded their market to the other cities of INDIA.
11

MARKETING OBJECTIVES =
The marketing objectives of the Lux were to expand their market to the other cities of INDIA.
Another objective was to maximize more market share.
In the growth stage, company had the following

MARKETING STRATEGIES :
Product =
In the growth stage, the company had offered the same product in the market.
Price =
In this stage, the company had changed their price to some extent because of maximizing the
market share. ( Slightly cut down the prices )
Advertising =
In the growth stage, they had increased their advertising budget as in the
initial stages because of attracting the new customers or to retain the existing customers.
Distribution =
In this stage, company had expanded their market to the other cities of INDIA. Their distribution
channel was the same as in the initial stages of the product.
Promotion =
In the growth stage, the company had also used the different proportioning
strategies to attract the new and the existing customers.

MATURITY STAGE
They modified the product by adding some changes in the product.
In this stage, few competitors enter into the market like ( CINTHOL, FAIRGLOW,SANTOOR,
CHANDRIKA, FIAMA DI WILLS and VIVEL ).
The company has expanded their market to almost all the cities of INDIA.
12

MARKETING OBJECTIVES =
The marketing objective of Lux is to maximize more profitwhile defending the market share.

MARKETING STRATEGIES
In this stage are based on:
Product
= The Lux has made the modification in the product by
introducing:Lux Almond, Lux Orchid , Lux Fruit, Lux Saffron, Lux Sandalwood
,Lux Rose,Lux International, Lux Chocolate, Lux Aromatic Extracts, Lux Oil and
Honey.etc
Price =
The Lux products are now available at higher prices in the market, the reasonbehind is that the
companys
marketing objectives is to maximize more profit.
Distribution =
Now Lux products are available in almost all the cities of INDIA. Their
distribution channel is same as in the initial stage.
Advertising =
In this stage Lux advertising has been reduced to some extent because of
the more brand awareness in the minds of customers.
Recently, they have shown
Aishwarya Rai , kareena kapoor & Shah Rukh khan .

13

PROMOTIONAL OFFERS : ---Like buy 3 get 1 free

DECLINE STAGE
besides of all campaigns for the sales promotion of
Lux
.The reasons for its decline are :
1.Currency fluctuations
: Unilever products are in over 100 countries worldwide, As aresult, it is exposed to adverse
currency fluctuations.
For instance, in 2004, a 5.9% decline in turnover was primarily due to a 4% appreciation inthe
average Euro exchange rate.
2.SLOWDOWN
: In year 2008 - 09 due to hard economic conditions in INDIA and other countries the sales
were highly affected as the consumer started looking for some
alternate products with a cheaper price than Lux.
3.Competition
:Lux has been facing competition from HUL itself (Lifebuoy) & from other companies like:Godrej Consumer Products :GCPL,Indiassecond largest soap maker with 9.2%market share.
with leading brands such asCINTHOL, FAIRGLOW & NIKHAR.
Fairglow brand
, India's first Fairness soap, has created marketing history as one of th

most successful

innovations.Wipro :The presence of Wipro in the toilet soap industry can be seen through
their brands suchasSANTOORandCHANDRIKA
In the southern market of India it is a major market player in toilet soap.
14

ITC :It entered the segment last year and has made a strong headway in a short time bygrowing
to 1.75% in just five months. With the brands like:Superia,Fiama Di Willsand

World Market For Sop

15

Unilever took full advantage and became the market leader for Lux brand in soap. They
alwaysconcentrate on different Culture, lifestyles, tastes, preferences budgets & economic
development of the country. This strategy helped Unilever to be the number one Lux soap
brand.Unilever depends heavily on advertising its brands and continued product innovation to
maintainand expand their market position.
1. Advertising:
In almost all the countries movie & famous TV serial star can b e seen in the luxadvertisement.
In 1943, Lux Soap store display cardboard advertising sign features popular Paramount movie
star Paulette Goddard. In India also famous bollywood stars have also been lux brand
ambassadors. The very first advertisement in 1929 in India featured Very famous Leelachitins as
its brand ambassador.
a. Outdoor & TV Advertising:
Brand awareness moved from 21% to 93% among women duringthe outdoor campaign & TV
advertisement. Purchase consideration among women almost doubledto 21%, while ad
awareness rose 33% to 56%. Media attribution showed the impact of outdoor.Before the posters
ran, 23% of women spontaneously thought they had seen the ads on roadside posters. After the
activity that figure rose to 67%, posters showed by far the biggest relativeincrease of any
medium.Lux had launched different different variants & different products of lux i.e. shampoo,
bodywash gel etc to attract large number of customers.
2. Direct Consumer Contact:
A large part of the global rural market for Lux is not mediareachable. In order to tap this huge
market, Unilever in the global market are using
DCCstrategiesto create brand awareness, consolidate brand loyalty and thereby increase sales.
Unilever alsoattempt to gain credibility in local markets and thereby build tacit endorsement for
their productsthrough the sponsorship of activities, conferences and campaigns, undertaken by
16

local professional bodies, funding anddisaster relief funds, donations,etc. All these are part of
non-aggressive corporate strategy to extend or consolidate their brand positioning in local
markets.They also continou research work for further improvement according to the customers
need.

a. Field research:
Lux marketers develop an expert knowledge of local markets, consumers, and their behaviors,
and draw on this to create marketing campaigns that maximize Lux brands impact through
targeted communications.
b. Desk research:
Lux marketers act different roles based in Lux Innovation Centers. They combine market
research with local market insights to raise brand awareness and generate loyalty. Meanwhile,
Lux is making use of the data that consumers volunteer themselves online in blog, message
boards and review sites. The advantage of using consumer-generated content to generate insights
as to consumer tastes gives an honest view of how the consumer feels.

17

DATA COLLECTION

Actually, the reliability of research decisions depends on the quality of

data

gathered.

By

taking

this

concept

into

consideration,

the data can be classified into primary data and secondary data.
We have used both the types of data, as far as project is
concerned.
1. Primary data
2. Secondary data

1. Primary Data
I. Questionnaire Method
II. Direct Interview Method and

Observation Method
The main tool use, the questionnaire method. Further direct interview method,Where a face-toface formal interview is taking. Lastly observation method Has been continuous with the
questionnaire method, as one continuouslyObserves the surrounding environment he works in.

2. Secondary data
18

These are those data which are collected from the various sources which
have been already created for the purpose of first time use and future use.
We have used the following secondary data in my project:

Internet
Newspaper
Magazines

Sample Design:
Sampling size = 200 Respondents (mostly targeted on women Or
Girls).
Sampling technique = Hypothesis Method
Research Instrument: "Questionnaire", "Personally"
Types of Questionnaire: "structure"

Derivation of sample size:

On the basis of the pilot survey, the percentage of customer who
married in last 5 years came to 60%. To ensure 99% confidence
level and a permissible error not to exceed 10%, the sample size
was determined as under:

Summary

Celebrity endorsement is the very important and basic tools for the
promotion of the product and now a day it is become a trend for

19

the product marketing and brad building. However it is easy to

select a celebrity but it is very difficult to establish a strong
relationship between the product and the endorser. The celebrity
can make a better brand image and also helpful for profit
maximization.

INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATION

Promotion:
The great Indian brand wagon staffed nearly four decades ago. Great
brands sometimes outlast their ambassadors as proven by Lux which celebrated its
75th anniversary in India.
The first ambassador. Leela Chitins featured in a Lux advertisement which flagged off
the Lux wagon. She gave way to a galaxy of stars which includes Madhubala,
Nargis, Meena Kumari, Mala Singh Sharmila Tagore, Waheeda Rehman, and Saira
Banu, Hema Malini. Zeenat Amaan, Juhi Chawla. Madhuri Dixit. Sridevi. Aishwarya
Rai and Kareena Kapoor, asian and latest Deepika padukone. The last frontier for
most actors aspiring to stardom is becoming a Lux ambassador. The brand has
outlasted much soap. From the beginning. Lux became a household name across the
country.
Sales Promotion:
Sales promotion. a key ingredient in marketing campaigns. Consists of a collection of
incentive tools, mostly slim term designed to stimulate quicker or greater purchase of
particular products or services by consumers or the trade. Whereas advertising
offers a reason to buy. Sales promotion offers an incentive to buy.

Prominent Sales Promotion Schemes Used By LUX

Lux presented 30 gm gold each to the first three winners of the Lux Gold Star offer
from Delhi. According to the promotional offer that Lux unveiled in October 2000, a
20

consumer finding a 22-carat gold coin in his or her soap bar got an opportunity to win an
additional 30 gm gold.

The first 10 callers every week got a 30 gm gold each. The offer could be
availed only on 100 gm and 150 gm packs of Lux soap. Lux Star Bano,
Aish Karo contest: All one needed to do was buy a special promotional
pack of Lux soap. The pack
comes with a special scratch card.
The 50 lucky winners and their spouses were flown down to Mumbai to
live a day like Aishwarya Rai would. They could also be given gift
vouchers worth Rs 50,000 from Shoppers' Stop along with an exclusively
designed Neeta Lulla sari and a beauty makeover by Michelle Tung,
Aishwarya preferred designer and stylist. The
piece de resistance was a dinner date with Aishwarya Rai herself.
Lux celebrated 75 years of stardom with the Har Star Lucky Star activity.
All wrappers of Lux had a star printed inside them. If the consumer
found written inside the star, any number from 1 to 5. She would get
an equivalent discount (in rupees) on her purchase from her shopkeeper.

Public Relations:
Not only must the company relate constructly to customers. Suppliers
and dealers, it must also relate to a large number of interested publics. A
public is any group that has an actual or potential interest in or impact on
a company's ability to achieve its objectives. PR involves a variety of
programs designed to promote or protect a company's image or its
21

individual products.

LUX PR Activities
Press Relation
Lux has been maintaining constant communicating with
its

customers

and

potential

customers.

Of

the

various

developments taking place in the brand by using press relations.

Events:
Lux celebrated 75 years of existence in a grand way by unveiling
Shahrukh Khan as their latest brand ambassador. Kareena
Kapoor, Juhi Chawla, Sridevi and Hema Malini graced the event
and made it special. All the stars have endorsed Lux in the past.
The event was held at the grand Intercontinental in Mumbai

Limited Edition:
Coming up with limited edition of the brand is also a way of
attracting attention towards the brand. It creates a buzz and a
feeling of urgency to try out the product and helps in promotion
of the brand. This strategy was also implemented by Lux by
bringing out limited editions

like

Chocolate Seduction.

Aromatic Glow. Festive Glow and Haute Pink.

22

Logo

Labeling:
The LUX Trade Character or Largo is present prominently on the package. A novel metallic
substrate packaging showcases the ingredients. And a female model is shown on the pack. Also
displayed graphically are the key ingredients.

Packaging:
The colors are different for different variants such as saffron for the saffron variant, pink for the
rose extracts etc. The Bars come in package sizes of 100g, 120g, 150 g Lux has also launched a
45 g variant called Mini Lux priced at Rs. 5.

23

Point Of Purchases:
The LUX is not given a notable placement on the shelves of different retail shops &
departmental stores for its sales promotion. Usually the company goes for wide display in the
stores where it potential for its product. Different eye-catching decorations are made inside the
store and in the showcase for outside display. These arrangements are made with the assistance
of the sales people of the company.

24

CHANGE IN COMMUNICATION STRATEGY

However. The communication was slowly seen to be losing relevance. As
consumers were beginning to question it the film star actually used the brand.
In addition to this. Several competitive beauty soap brands had begun advertising
using similar methods of communication. In this context. The global brand team for
Lux developed a new communication strategy. This strategy brings out the star in
you for the first time moved the brand away from the long-running film star
route. The film star still features in the new communication but not as her
gorgeous self but rather as an alter ego/projection of the protagonist (a regular
girl) for a few seconds of the entire ad.
Thus. for the first time the film star was used as a communication device and not as
the main feature of the ad The move away from the film star and her fantasy world to a
regular Lux user. With the focus on the protagonist's star quality, is a change
from the norms set by Lux advertising in the past. With the new communication
strategy. the film star is used purely as a communication device to portray star quality
in every Lux user. This can be significantly seen in the latest TV commercial of Lux
25

Crystal Shine where priyanka Chopra is portrayed as a normal women.

This idea brings out the star in you puts the consumer at the heart of the brands' promise. This
promise goes beyond the functional deliverables of soap. Beyond bathing and the bathroom to
the world outside. It's a world where with Lux on her side. an ordinary woman can Impact her
world with her own star quality.
This is a successful attempt to bring the brand closer to its users and to
give it a more youthful and contemporary images.Breaking away from
tradition. HLL resorts to a male and metro sexual Shah Rukh to revive
Lux. which turned 75 in 2005.

Selection of Media:
There are number of source available for passing the product message. These
are follow:
Television
Outdoor (Billboards)
Magazines
Newspapers
Brochures
Internet.

Impact on Sales
The company believes that ads do hale adequate impact on sales. Inorder to net the company
policy of maintaining and strengthening the corporate image. The ads are shown on television.

26

There is a lug-term strategy in the hooks of Unilever to disturb the loose Soap market. They
usually slew documentary from time to time regarding the flaws in loose Soap quality. It is
usually shown without any discrimination. I.e. Without mentioning any Soap name or company
name in the documentary.

Public Relations:
In order to build healthy relations with the consumers. The company
established a consumer department to manage the complaints of the endusers. A legal department is also dealing with the legal issues and media
war. If any news is published in a newspaper that harms the product
image. A persuasive message is published in that newspaper to counter
the rumor.

Sponsoring Events:
The company goes for sponsoring events in order to heighten the
compam and brand image. Mostly the company goes for financing such
kind of events in which its product has got some room to build likeness
Tie Company also goes for sponsoring fashion shows in different cities.

27

Distribution:
LUX gins for indirect channel of distribution. the hierarchy of the
distribution channel is as follows.
Manufacturer
Distributor
Retailer
Consumer

The distribution strategy pursued by the Unilever is intensive. It heals

that the product distribution is covering wide market. 'Here are regional
headquarters of the company in all the big cities of the country. There is a
distributor in each big city. In order to reach remote areas. A distributor
engages a sub-distributor for a small area. The company is directly linked
with the main distributor and the sub-distributor has no such direct
contact with the company. The company providers the Life Buoy
inventory to the main distributor that is further dispatched to retailers and
sub-distributors There is a regional manager of Unilever that employs
Area Saks Manager for a specific Area then comes the Territory Sales
Officer (TSO) TSO is directly linked with The distributors to set and
achieve targets. The targets vary from area to area and Are set on the
basis of history of the area sales. As the sales targets depend Upon the
area history of sales: these are usually achievable It these target, are
facing sore kind of setback. The promotional schemes based on areas are
announced as discussed earlier.

28

SWOT ANALYSIS
SWOT analysis is a basic, straightforward model that provides direction and serves as a basisfor
the development of marketing plans. It accomplishes this by assessing an organizationsstrengths
(what an organization can do) and weaknesses (what an organization cannot do) inaddition to
opportunities (potential favorable conditions for an organization) and threats(potential
unfavorable conditions for an organization). The role of SWOT analysis is to takethe information
from the environmental analysis and separate it into internal issues (strengthsand weaknesses)
and external issues (opportunities and threats). Once this is completed,SWOT analysis
determines if the information indicates something that will assist the firm inaccomplishing its
objectives (a strength or opportunity), or if it indicates an obstacle thatmust be overcome or
minimized to achieve desired results (weakness or threat) (MarketingStrategy, 1998).The SWOT
analysis summarizes the external environmental factors as a list of opportunities

SWOT PROFILE OF LUX

STRENGTHS
29

1.Strong Market Research (door to door sampling is done once a year in Urban and Ruralareas)
2.Many variants (Almond Oil, Orchid Extracts, Milk Cream, Fruit Extracts, Saffron,Sandalwood
Oil, and Honey to name a few)
3.Strong sales and distribution network backed by HLL
4.Strong brand image
5.Positioning focuses on the attractive beauty segment
6.Dynamically continuous innovation of the product and brand rejuvenation new
variants(Aromatic Glow and Chocolate Seduction and Lux White Spa body wash) and
innovative promotions (22 carat gold coin promotion Chance Hai)
7.Perceived to have high value for money (strong brand promotion but relatively lower
pricewhich is a winning combination in the popular segment)
8.Though it is in popular segment, it is having mass appeal/market presence across allsegments
(15% of the soap market captured by Lux (sales / volume)9.Unique advantage of having access
to resources and assets of HL
WEAKNESSES
1.Lux is mainly positioned as beauty soap targeted towards women, hence it lacks unisexappeal
2.Usage rate/ wear rate is high and is generally mushy and soggy
3.Some variants like the sunscreen, International variant did not do well in the market4.Certain
advertisements like the recent one with Shah Rukh Khan resulted in controversialinterpretations
of the message of the advertisement and lead to some loss of focus (of message of the
advertisements)
5.Stock out problems - replenishment time is high in semi-urban/rural areas
6.Earlier positioning as the soap of the stars has somewhat alienated the brand from a portion
of the consumers especially in rural areas.

OPPORTUNITIES
1.Soap industry growing by 10% in India
2.Beauty segments Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) is very high. An indicationof
this is that Fair and Lovelys segment is increasing at a fast rate - Lux must reinforce its presence
in the beauty segment
30

3.More promotions like price-offs and samples

4.Retentive strategy required as the soap segment is in the mature stage of its product lifecycle
5.Line extension probably with more variants catering to the beauty segment like natural,herbal
soap etc
6.Liquid body wash is currently in the growth stage Lux should come out with morevariants in
this segment
7.Level of servicing is high during sales promotion schemes this could be brought down8. It
has a large market share and hence has a strong hold over the market

THREATS
1.New entrants/local competitors/MNCs would increase the competition (Camay, P&G)
2.High internal competition Pears also catering the beauty segment (also from HLL stable)
3.Excessive dependence on beauty segment makes Lux vulnerable to changing customer tastes
4.Technological change makes the existing products obsolete Lux should focus
ontechnological innovations like Body Wash
5.Its in the maturity stage in the Product Life Cycle and has a threat of slipping down todecline
stage if constant reinvention of the brand is not carried out

Competitor analysis
Internal competitors Lifebuoy:
Born: 1895History: Owned by Unilever Plc., the parent company of Hindustan Unilever
Ltd.Status: Has 18% market share in the bathing soaps category, worth Rs6,000 croreLifebuoy
landed on Indian shores in 1895, when the country was in the grip of a plagueepidemic. With its
positioning as a powerful germicidal and disinfectant, and with a strongcarbolic smell, it was
what the nation was looking for. But the health advantage waned over time as competitors came
out with soaps that promised both health and beauty.It was around 2002 that the product moved
31

from being a hard soap to a mild soap thatdelivered a significantly superior bathing experience.
The new soap had a refreshing fragrance and its overall positioning changed, painting its promise
of health in softer, more versatile and responsible huesfor the entire family. The packaging was
also changed: The rugged looking packs were soon replaced with a softer pinkish cover. This
was followed by aseries of ads highlighting the soaps germ-fighting benefits. Lifebuoy had
become a family soap with hygiene as its core promise. Right from the earlydays, the brand has
preferred effective communication to celebrities. An exception is itsrecent, limited exposure
campaign with cricketer Yuvraj Singh.
Analyzing The Market Of LuxSantoor is the flagship brand in the Wipro Consumer Care &
Lighting stable and the 2ndlargest brand of soap in India in the popular segment of the category.
The brand enjoys two decades of trust since its launch in 1986 and has grown to be counted
amongst the top brands in the Country in an intensively competitive market. Millions of women
across the country have discovered the secret of younger looking skin with Santoor. It is a truly
unique soap that combines the goodness of natural ingredients - Sandal, Turmeric and natural
Skin Softeners. Sandal provides a cooling and soothing effect that softens skin, while turmeric
controls formation of skin darkening pigments like melanin, to give skin a radiant glow. Natural
Skin Softeners make skin soft and supple. The end result, skin that is so healthy and beautiful,
itlies about your actual age!Amongst the first brands in the Country to launch an offering with
the twin ingredient benefits of Sandal and Turmeric, Santoor has over the years moved from a
purely natural ingredient based appeal, to one of the most preferred beauty soaps of the day.
Today, Santoor is one of the fastest growing soap brands in India. Santoor is available in three
variants Santoor (Sandal & Turmeric), Santoor White (Sandal & Almond milk) and Santoor
Chandanwhich is a premium soap manufactured with extracts of Sandalwood oil a favourite
of discerning consumers.

32

BCG Matrix
BCG matrix method is a portfolio management tool developed by Boston ConsultingGroup .It is
a method based on the product life cycle theory that can be used to know what priorities should
be given in the product portfolio of a business unit.To ensure valuecreation ,a company should
have a portfolio of products that contains both high growth products in need of cash inputs and
low growth products that generate a lot of cash.There are2 dimensions : market share and market
growth.Placing products in the BCG matrix resultsin four categories in a portfolio of a
company:Star: High market growth and high market shareCash cows: Low market growth and
high market shareQuestion marks: High market growth and low market shareDogs: Low market
growth and low market shareInnovation seems to be the main theme of the Indian soap industry
in 2008. With the entry of ITC, the stage is all set for a major tussle between the new entrant and
existing players in theRs 6,500-crore branded toilet soaps sector in India. The soap industry is
seen to have amarket growth rate of about 10%. This shows that industry has a high growth rate.
HUL is amarket leader in the industry and its soap Lux enjoys a market share of 17 % in India.
Soaccording to the concept of BCG matrix any product which has high market growth andmarket
share is classified as STARS. The major objective of products coming in Stars is tomaintain their

33

high market share. HUL comes up with various variants in LUX quitefrequently in order to
maintain their position.

QUESTIONNAIRE
1.What is the frequency of purchase of soap?
-Weekly

- Quarterly

-Bimonthly

-Semi-annually

-Monthly

-More

2) How much soap do you personally require every month?

-I

-3

-2

-4

3.During purchase of soap what influences you purchase?

34

-Price/cost

-Celebrity Advertisement

-Quality & Quantity

-Other (Package/Trial)

4) Do you prefer celebrity endorsement as

-Likeable
-Unlikeable
- Neutral
- Not Important

5).

How much you satisfy with the message of Lux advertisement?

-Highly satisfy

-Satisfied

-Modality

- Dissatisfied

CONCLUSION
From the data obtained in the previous chapter, we can come to the following conclusions:For housewives, presence of natural ingredients plays an important role while
buying soap. However, although price does play an important role in the purchase decision,
today more and more housewives are conscious about skin nourishment. Also, many of
them buy the brand mainly because of it has been used in the family for years together. Lux
scored high on all parameters like fragrance, lather, packaging, availability, variety
and nourishment of skin. The only factors on which it did not score very high were
freshness and price. Consumers think that soaps like Liril score better on freshness
than Lux. Lux leaves them feeling nourished and cared for, but not fresh for a very long
time. The consumers share with Lux, a relationship of trust and dependability and
of respect. They look up to the brand and literally worship the brand. Lux, thus,
commands the respect and even love of the consumers. Most consumers are satisfied with
Lux and think that it is best that they can get. Lux is an emotive brand. Emphasis is not
35

on the physical attributes of the soap. Demands from the brand are high; people expect that
Lux will make their skin beautiful.

WEBSITE REFERRED
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

www.google.com
www.unilever.com
www.wikipedia.com
www.lux.com
www.hul.co.in/brands/lux.asp

36